Gun platform



E. SLIZEWSKI.

GUN PLATFORM.

APPLICATION FI'LED JULY 29, 1920.

" 1,414,100. Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

, Inventur Ernest 5112 E wskl y? Attnr'ne s E. SLIZEWSKI.

GUN PLATFORM. APPLICATl ON FILED JuLY29. 1920- 1,4 1 4, 1 00., Patented Apr- 25, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

\ H'IIIIIIIIIII/IIIII Inventor Erna 5t Elizewski Attorneys E. SLIZEWSKI.

GUN PLATFORM.

APPLlCATlON FILED JULY29, 1920.

1,414, 100, Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

lnventnr Ernest filizewskl Att urneys carts stares en rant @FFEQE.

ERNEST SLIZEWSKI, OF PELICAN LAKE, WISCONSIN.

GUN PLATFORM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgntged Apr, 25, 1922,

Application filed July 29, 1926. Serial No. 399,667.

.made adjustable for any sized gun.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a gun platform having an adustable recoil brace, which is adapted for either single or split trails.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a gun platform of relatively light construction which is so constructed as to, be-capable of carrying heavy artillery.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a gun platform to be used in sandy, or muddy country to carr a piece of artillery in such manner that it. can be effectively and quickly used.

Further objects will be apparent during the course of the following detailed description:

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the same:

' Figure l is a plan View of the gun plat orm. Figure 2 is a side elevation of the complete platform having a piece of artillery mounted thereon.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the base plate upon which the platform is mounted.

Figure tis a section taken on the line 4% of Figure 8.

Figure 5 is a section taken on the line 55 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the gun platform.

Figure 7 is a cross sectional view taken. on the line 77 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a cross sectional view taken on the line SS of Figure l. I Figure 9. is a plan view partly'in section of a detail of the trail brace.

Figure 10 is an end elevation of the detail shown in Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a front elevation of the detail shown in Figure 9.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a detail of the recoil brace.

F igure 13 is aperspective view of the runway used to mount the gun upon the plat form structure.

Figure 14 is a fragmentary cross sectional View showing the manner in which the platform is mounted for rotation upon the base plate.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred example of my invention, the letter A indicates generally a piece of artillery, embodying wheels B; a trail C and spade structure D. The gun plate mounting comprises a base E having the recoil bracing structure F attached thereto and the rotatable platform G mounted thereon; the platform structure having means H for running the gun int-o position thereon.

The artillery piece A may be of any approved type such as is used by the United States nd foreign governments, either for heavy or light field use.

In the use of artillery in sandy or muddy soil, it has been found that the wheels sink into the ground and prevent quick action, which sometimes is vitally necessary. In order that the carriage may be prevented from sinking into the ground, the base plate E is provided having a downturned flange 2 0 of elliptical formation which is adapted to biteinto the soil, in order that the base plate may be maintained stationary. The base plate E is preferably oval in shape to further aid in preventing lateral movement thereof. A trackway 21, which is preferably angular in cross section is provided, havin leg 22 thereof secured to the base plate 1 as by rivets 23, in such manner that an upstanding leg 24f is provided as a track. A hearing plate 25 is preferably secured to the upper surface of the base plate E by rivets 26 or the like. A spindle 27 projects upwardly from the bearing plate 25 and is preferably integral therewith.

The rotatable platform is rotatably mounted upon the base plate E and bears upon the trackway and upon the bearing plate 25. A bearing plate 28 is rigidly mounted upon the under surface of the platform 30 as by rivets 29. The bearing plate 28 and platform 80 have apertures 31 therein, to receive the spindle 2'? for rota-- tion of the platform G thereupon. The platform is preferably secured to the spin dle 27 as by a cotter pin 32. In order that the-platform G may be quickly rotated upon 7 the base plate IE, it is preferred that wheels 33, having the groove 34 therein, be mounted upon the undersurface of the plate 30. as by brackets 35,. and in such a manner that they freely rotate therein and engage the upstanding leg 24 of the trackway 21. It can be seen form this construction, that the platform is revolubly.supportedat the center upon the bearin plates. and at' the outer circumference thereof upon its rollers 33. It is preferred that .in the construction of the platform G, slots 36 be cut therein in order that the wheels 33 may project outwardly from the slots, to facilitate lubrica-T tion of the wheels, bearings, and trackway and to see that the same are functioning correctly. The trackways 37 and 38 are preferably mounted upon'the upper surface of the platform plate 30, and adapted to receive the wheels B upon the carriage, to prevent lateralmovement of said artillery piece A off of the platform G. Apertures 39 are preferably cut into the plate at the end of the channels 37 and 38 for the purpose of detachably receiving the hooked ends 40 of the runway members H.

It can be seen that from this construction a piece of field artillery can be run up onto the platform G over the runway H, and positioned upon said platform above the ground. It is to be'understood that any means may here be shown for detachably placing the treadways H to function in the above described manner. I

Since the revolving platform is to be so constructed as to receive different kinds of artillery, it is preferred that the recoil structure F be made so flexible as to embrace various types of artillery. The arms are each preferably formed of metal bars, having a section 46 thereof pivotally connected to a hook structure 47, which is. mounted upon the base structure E; and a section 47 adjustably connected to said section 46 as by bolts 48' fitting within the longitudinal slots as of thesections 46. The ends of the members 47 are each provided with an aperture 48 formed'therein for the pivotal reception of an eye bolt 49, said eye bolt being detachably mounted upon the ends of the arcuate spade abutting member 50. It is preferred that the spade abutting mem ber 50 be of such length as to receive the spades D; employing the single trail; such as the American 3 gun; the French 75 m/m; 155 111/111 howitzer Schneider; and to permit the use of split trail guns; such as the American '75 m/m; and the. 155 m/m Filloux gun. i V

The concavedportion 51 of the spade receiving' member 50 is so arranged upon the arms 45 as to face the gun platform G. It

' can thus be seen that-in case of the use of a single or split trail piece of artillery, the spades D thereof can be positioned upon this arcuate face B in such manner that they are securely braced thereagainst, while the members 46 and s7 of the side arms are respectivelyadjusted to suit the particular type of gun mounted upon the platform, and then securely bolted together by the bolts 48.

From the foregoing it can be seen that the recoil bracing means is a valuable feature in such countries where the soil is too muddy or sandy as to not permit the spade D to effectively engage therewith.

In operation the artillery A is first drawn upon the gun platform G over the runways H and positioned so that the spade D of the trail C abuts directly against the concaved surface 51 of the spade abutting member 50, and the gun traversed upon its platform to the required angle. It is to be noted that nothwithstanding the fact that the arms 45 are pivotally secured to the platform structure G, an angular traverse can be secured due to the adjustable arms.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown'and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, since alterations could be made in adjusting the length of the arms 45 and the securing thereof together, such as by bayonet slots arranged along the longitudinal slots in the arms 46. Various other changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without depart-- ing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In a gun platform, the combination of a base plate having a downturned flange thereon adapted to be embedded in somematerial to maintain the base plate stationary, a circular trackway-carried upon the upper surface of the base plate, a'bearing plate having a spindle thereon mounted upon said upper surface, a platform, a bearing plate upon the under surface of said platform,

said last mentioned bearing plate and platform having apertures therein adapted to receive the spindle of said base plate, and wheels carried by said platform, said wheels gauged to fit the base plate track, whereby the platform structure can be traversed through an angle of 360.

2. In a gun platform, the combination of a stationary base plate having a downturned flange thereupon for engagement with some material to make the same stationary, a circular 'trackway formed of angle iron,

mounted upon the upper surface of the base plate, a bearing plate having a spindle thereupon mounted upon said upper surface, a

platform, a bearing plate upon the under surface of said platform, said last mentioned bearing plate and platform having apertures therein adapted to receive the spindle of said base plate, a cotter pin in said spindle for detachably connecting said base plate and platform, grooved wheels carried by said platform gauged to fit a leg of the circular track whereby the platform structure can be angularly traversed, adjustable arms pivotally connected to said base plate, and an arcuate trail bracing member pivotally carried by said adjustable arms and adapted to receive either single or split trails for bracing them against recoil.

In a gun platform, the combination of a stationary base plate having a downturned flange thereupon for engagement with some material to make the same stationary, a circular traokway formed of angle iron-mounted upon the upper surface of the base plate, a bearing plate having a spindle thereupon mounted upon said upper surface, a platform, a bearing plate upon the under surface of said platform, said last mentioned bearing plate and platform having apertures therein adapted to receive the spindle of said base plate, a cotter pin in said spindle for detachably connecting said base plate and platform, grooved wheels carried by said platform gauged to fit a leg of the circular track whereby the platform structure can be angularly traversed, adjustable arms pivotally connected to said base plate, an arcuate trail bracing member pivotally carried by said adjustable arms and adapted to receive either single or split trails for bracing them against recoil, trackways carried by said platform, and detachable runways mounted upon said platform to facilitate mounting of the gun upon the platform and the placing of the wheels within the trackways thereupon.

4t. In a gun platform, the combination of a stationary base plate, a platform rotatably mounted thereon, adjustable bars pivotally mounted upon said base plate, said bars including a pair of substantially rectangular shaped sections having slots therein, bolts for adjustable disposition through said slots for adjusting said arm sections, and a bracing member on said bars for receiving the spade of an artillery piece when said artillery piece is mounted on said platform for bracing said artillery piece from recoil.

ERNEST SLIZEWSKI. 

